Leo from the 80s

Leonardo DiCaprio is shooting a new movie with Martin Scorsese called The Wolf Of Wall Street. Here he is on set in New York the last few days wearing dark hair and a suit cut from the 80s. Costume designers don’t get enough credit sometimes for hitting exactly the right notes in the details. Like how often I used to see that tie with a jacket of that colour. And the tassels on the shoes. Remember that?

Leo is 38 this year. People always say they have a hard time seeing themselves as they are as opposed to how they remember their own faces in their minds. My ma says that when she looks in the mirror she’s still 35, in her prime. That works in the opposite too, don’t you think? There are a lot of people who don’t really process that today’s Leo is not the one of Titanic. They’re bringing up these images of him on their screens and it’s being replaced in their subconscious by his previous iteration - less jowly, less bloated, fresher skin. But if Leo were a civilian we wouldn’t double take anymore. If Leo were a civilian we’d think he was the guy who used to be popular in school and ended up a real estate agent. Come on. That’s a face that belongs on a sign on a lawn with a phone number and a website underneath.

As for Leo in The Great Gatsby, many of you have written requesting commentary on the news that it’s been pushed back -- Baz Luhrmann’s film was originally scheduled for release at Christmas and is now due Summer 2013. Does that mean it’s bad? Well, it means it’s probably not good enough to go up against what’s expected to be a very, very strong Best Picture pool of candidates this award season. It also means it’s not ready because of that 3D situation.

Hilariously Warner Bros is trying to spin it like Gatsby is so good, they moved it because it belongs at the summer box office:

“Based on what we’ve seen, Baz Luhrmann’s incredible work is all we anticipated and so much more," Dan Feldman, Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution said in a statement. "We think moviegoers of all ages are going to embrace it, and it makes sense to ensure this unique film reaches the largest audience possible.” Echoed Kwan Vanderberg, Warner Bros. president of international distribution, "We think ‘The Great Gatsby’ will be the perfect summer movie around the world." (Source)

There is no Avengers next year. And the Dark Knight has risen. But... a period piece in the summer? With no explosions or superheroes or trucks that become airplanes? A film about greed and the betrayal of the American dream...? In the summer?

Some say Gatsby will make more money this way and Leo last did well in the summer in Inception. Oh I see now. Is that what we’re doing? Are we comparing Inception to The Great Gatsby? I’m starting to wonder whether or not there’s another Great Gatsby we’ve never heard of, A Great Gatsby that’s actually a combination of Moulin Rouge, Alice In Wonderland, and, Magic Mike.